Chapter Summaries

After advancing to True Image, Liang Qu settled his cultivation, examined his strengthened abilities, and continued studying the mysteries of Rank Fruit and Long Qi. By the end, the court had summoned him to receive his reward at the Grand Court Assembly.

• Liang Qu calmed himself after his breakthrough and recorded insights about True Image, Dragon Court Immortal Island, Rank Fruit, and Long Qi.
• Liang Qu discovered that Fubo could shrink to writing-brush size and fly under his control, then tested its weapon traits and his Abyssal Wood Bow.
• Liang Qu checked the Ze Cauldron and found 2,562 Marsh Essence, three Seeds of Creation, and three Dew Seeds.
• Liang Qu examined the growing dark-gold spirit seed from the Yin Yang Spirit Seed Art as his sea of clouds expanded after his breakthrough.
• In late August, Liang Qu dressed in formal attire and awaited his reward at the court's Grand Court Assembly.

Liang Qu attended the Grand Court Assembly and received imperial honors for his service, while Yang Dongxiong, Xu Shi, and Long E Ying were recognized alongside him. The emperor also ordered Long E Ying and Liang Qu to marry, leaving their wedding to be arranged for an auspicious day.

• Liang Qu prepared for court with Long Li and Long Yao, then reassured Long E Ying before they traveled to the Imperial City.
• At Noon Gate, Liang Qu entered alone through the main gate while Yang Dongxiong, Xu Shi, and Long E Ying entered through a side gate.
• At the Grand Court Assembly, Liang Qu stepped forward when the emperor called for him and praised his military achievements.
• The imperial decree made Liang Qu a Second-Class Earl Xingyi, granted him military rank and rewards, and exempted fourteen counties from taxes for three years.
• The emperor posthumously honored Yang Dongxiong and Xu Shi for their roles in Liang Qu's upbringing.
• The emperor ordered Liang Qu and Long E Ying to marry and directed that an auspicious date be selected.

Liang Qu received a Second-Class Earlship and chose Blood Coral as one of his royal scenic treasures, discovering that it supplied abundant Marsh Essence. With his reserves restored to nearly 220,000, he was better prepared to advance the Water King Ape’s fusion level.

• Officials discussed Liang Qu’s unusually high title and merit after morning court, while palace residents celebrated his promotion and the honors granted to Yang Dongxiong and Xu Shi.
• A palace eunuch presented Liang Qu with lists of scenic treasures, and Liang Qu selected Blood Coral while letting Long E Ying choose a Mountain Rock Waterfall and a Blue-Eyed Snail Flower.
• Liang Qu quietly gave the eunuch a large Silver Note and asked him to pay special attention to the quality of the Blood Coral.
• The eunuch delivered a coral taller than the standard, along with sea salt stones for preparing seawater.
• Liang Qu touched the Blood Coral and gained enough Marsh Essence to refill his reserves to nearly 220,000.

Liang Qu’s Water King Ape reached a new fusion stage, and his spiritual seed began to crack as he sought advice about its possible transformation. He learned that cultivating a Sun Wheel might help Long E Ying advance, then set out to build merit and begin arranging their marriage.

• Liang Qu raised the Water King Ape’s fusion degree to 150‰, advancing Command Water into Chasing the River.
• Liang Qu discovered cracks in his dark-gold spiritual seed and asked the young Aurora Expert what they meant.
• The young man suggested Liang Qu’s spiritual seed might transform into a Sun Wheel and said Long E Ying could advance after their marriage if it did.
• Liang Qu considered using a Vortex Palace to share Red Mountain’s talents and concluded he needed twenty more Great Merits, likely by killing a Ghost Mother Sect Grandmaster.
• Xu Shi gave Liang Qu two invitation cards and sent him to ask Mr. Lan at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to calculate a suitable match for his marriage to Long E Ying.

Liang Qu and Long E Ying visited the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, where Lan Jicai confirmed their birth charts were an auspicious match and named dates for registering their marriage. He also gave Liang Qu the Sacred Emperor’s assignment to investigate and quietly remove suspected Great Snow Mountain Hidden Stakes, leaving Liang Qu to prepare for both the task and their wedding.

• Lan Jicai read Liang Qu and Long E Ying’s birth charts, declared them a Heaven-ordained match, and recommended September 16 or 27 for their marriage registration.
• Lan Jicai gave Liang Qu three booklets containing the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s deductions about Hidden Stakes near Blue Lake and asked him to verify and remove them discreetly.
• Lan Jicai warned Liang Qu that dismantling Hidden Stakes could benefit Jian Zhongyi and that Liang Qu should not underestimate the danger.
• Liang Qu and Long E Ying discussed marriage seniority as they walked beside Accumulated Water Pond, and Liang Qu reassured her that his family accepted their marriage.
• Liang Qu and Long E Ying decided to attend the wedding feast on September 8.

Yi Xing Town celebrated Liang Qu’s achievements with a new tax exemption, while news of his rise reached Ha Lu Han and the Northern Court. In the Imperial Capital, Liang Qu received honors for his deceased family and celebrated with friends at a lavish banquet that ended with a surprise fireworks display.

• A courier announced that Liang Qu had blazed a trail for Da Shun and that Pingyang Prefecture’s head tax would be waived for three years, causing Liang Guangtian to collapse when he heard Liang Qu’s deceased parents had received imperial honors.
• Su Na'er told Ha Lu Han that Liang Qu had become a Grandmaster at twenty-two, and Ha Lu Han said he would try to reach True Image by twenty-five.
• At Sky Vessel Tower, Liang Qu received the imperial decrees posthumously honoring his parents and grandparents, then joined Yang Dongxiong and Long E Ying for the grand banquet.
• Liang Qu welcomed guests and toasted with friends as Yang Dongxiong played the folk tune “Good Scenery” on a sanxian.
• After midnight, Liang Qu went to the river with his companions to release sky lanterns and discovered Xu Zishuai and the others had bought fireworks as a surprise.

Liang Qu visited the Imperial Horse Administration and reunited with Red Mountain, whose transformation made him a formidable mount that could merge with Liang Qu’s Riding Dragon Flight. He then registered his marriage to Long E Ying in Shuntian Prefecture, where officials arranged to establish her household registration as a Pingyang native.

• Liang Qu inspected the Imperial Horse Administration and accepted a horsehair blanket from the Groom Official.
• Liang Qu reunited with Red Mountain, now a Second Rank Chasing Waves and First Rank Treading the Sky Dragon Blood Horse with five Innate Skills.
• Liang Qu discovered that Red Mountain could merge with his Riding Dragon Flight, increasing its carrying capacity and allowing him to travel without splitting his attention.
• On September twenty-seventh, Liang Qu and Long E Ying registered their marriage at the Shuntian Prefecture yamen.
• The Shuntian Prefecture Governor notarized their registration and agreed to send a sealed letter so Long E Ying could be registered as a Pingyang native.

Liang Qu and Long E Ying left the Imperial Capital with the court’s wedding gifts, and Liang Qu told her about his new assignments and the court’s plan to confront the Iron Head Fish. He intended to use the opportunity to earn great merits and acquire what he needed to deal with Vortex Palace, while keeping his own strength secret.

• Liang Qu oversaw the loading of the court’s wedding gifts aboard the Treasure Ship as he and Long E Ying prepared to leave the Imperial Capital.
• Liang Qu and Long E Ying rested together among the furnishings, and he showed her the imperial order describing his three tasks.
• Liang Qu explained that the court had awarded him three great merits for bringing Long E Ying to court and planned to have him help confront the Iron Head Fish after its attack on the Sea Merchants.
• Liang Qu said the Dragon Man Tribe and the White Ape’s support had shifted the balance against the aquatic demons, making him the court’s bridge to a campaign against them.
• Liang Qu privately resolved to use the assignments to earn the merits he needed for two Profound Yellow Tokens and to deal with Vortex Palace himself.

Liang Qu took Long E Ying and Long Binglin into the Immortal Palace to speak with the Mirage Dragon’s lingering consciousness and ask it to reopen the legacy. The palace spirit finally answered, but only declared that the dream realm was ultimately an illusion.

• Liang Qu told Long E Ying that he planned to revisit the Immortal Island Above the Clouds and left with the others for Pingyang.
• Liang Qu put on his new imperial spirit armor and asked Little Mirage Dragon to draw him, Long E Ying, and Long Binglin into the Immortal Palace.
• Liang Qu explained that the palace’s legacy had disappeared after Little Mirage Dragon used someone else to fight in its place, and he hoped to persuade the palace to restore it.
• Liang Qu recounted the history of the dynasties and Little Mirage Dragon’s origins, then argued that the remaining Mirage Clan should not hide the benefits of the legacy.
• The Immortal Palace spirit appeared in the mist and told Liang Qu, “The dream realm... is ultimately an illusion...”

Liang Qu and the Long siblings learned that Grand Ancestor Da Li may have succeeded in creating a Dream Realm Dynasty before the Immortal Palace expelled them. Ten days later, they returned to the reopened inheritance, where Liang Qu defeated a Mirage Rhinoceros and gained a new power for Little Mirage Dragon.

• Long E Ying reminded Liang Qu that the white mist had contradicted his claim that Grand Ancestor Da Li's Dream Realm Dynasty was a delusion, leading him to wonder whether it had succeeded.
• After the Immortal Palace vanished, Liang Qu and the Long siblings discussed whether a hidden netherworld existed and whether the speaking white mist had been the Mirage Dragon.
• Ten days later, Liang Qu, Long E Ying, and Long Binglin returned to the reopened Immortal Palace and paid their respects to the Mirage Clan.
• Liang Qu destroyed a Mirage Rhinoceros with his Iron Brush, earning Marsh Essence and Wu Earth Mirage Rhinoceros Qi for Little Mirage Dragon.
• Little Mirage Dragon transformed the new Mirage Qi into a rhinoceros that merged with Liang Qu's armor and strengthened it before the Immortal Palace doors shut again.

Liang Qu returned to Yi Xing Town after a year away and was welcomed with a loud celebration. After reuniting with colleagues and announcing that he and Long E Ying had registered their marriage, he settled back into his renovated home with several new treasures.

• Fat Catfish left the Frog Clan Grounds after tricking Fist into handling the remaining work, while Da Pang and Er Pang returned home.
• Lin Songbao, Li LiBo, and Chen Jiechang organized a noisy welcome for Liang Qu at Yi Xing Town Wharf, and Liang Qu arranged a ten-day banquet.
• Liang Qu inspected the new waterfall and Blue-Eyed Snail Flower in his pond, and Frog Duke showed him how to adjust the waterfall's flow and sound.
• Long E Ying returned to the Dragon Man Tribe for lotus seeds, and Liang Qu reported the sea merchant attack and his marriage to the River Conservancy Office.
• Liang Qu told his colleagues that he and Long E Ying had registered their marriage in the Imperial Capital, prompting them to mob him playfully.
• Liang Qu returned home and found three thousand lotus seeds, thirty Mermaid Tears, and five Da Bao Fish waiting alongside the sleeping Toad King.

Liang Qu advanced his Yang Spirit Seed and assigned his beasts to establish a hidden base near the Northern Waters estuary. He reopened the express waterways to Pengze, then turned toward the Sea Abyss Palace to pursue his next tasks.

• While eating, Liang Qu absorbed marsh essence, examined his Immortal Island Dragon Court’s progress, and saw a new crack form in his Yang Spirit Seed.
• Liang Qu ordered Round Head, the Clan Pig, Ao Cangyuan, and Ao Miyun to establish a concealed base near the Northern Waters estuary and gather intelligence.
• Liang Qu tasked Cannot Move with rebuilding the waterways, negotiating with General Yuan, and retrieving the year’s matured precious materials.
• Liang Qu traveled through the marsh and reopened the express route between Pengze and the Jiang Huai Great Marsh in less than three days.
• Cannot Move entered the route to negotiate with General Yuan, while Liang Qu headed toward the Sea Abyss Palace.

Liang Qu learned that the Pufferfish Tribe had two Great Demons and prepared to exploit its fight with the Doghead Fish Tribe to attack. As Liang Qu and Long E Ying set out, he revealed that Fat Catfish had gone to the battle ahead of them.

• Fat Catfish infiltrated the Pufferfish Tribe by posing as a hungry exile and learned that it had two Great Demons.
• Liang Qu discussed the tribe's poisonous Pufferfish and its leaders' strength with Octopus, then arranged a banquet in Pingyang Prefecture.
• Fat Catfish gained the trust of a Pufferfish and tried to learn about the Great King's Divine Power, but the fish asked it to teach its brother ancient human writing instead.
• Liang Qu met Long E Ying and Long Binglin at the vortex passage and explained that the Pufferfish Tribe was fighting the Doghead Fish Tribe, leaving it vulnerable.
• Long E Ying asked where A Fei was, and Liang Qu said Fat Catfish had gone to the fight while he began explaining the two Great Demons' Divine Powers.

The Fat Catfish inspired Spiky Ball and the puffers to fight seriously, then joined their ambush against the Doghead Fish. Meanwhile, Liang Qu and his companions reached the Pufferfish Tribe, where he warned them about Spiky Thorns’ dangerous powers before slipping inside to investigate.

• Spiky Ball assigned the Fat Catfish and a pufferfish to an ambush, and the Fat Catfish’s speech rallied the puffers to fight earnestly.
• Spiky Ball ambushed and killed a Doghead Fish, prompting the puffers to charge into battle.
• The Fat Catfish joined the clash with black mist, helping the puffers catch the Doghead Fish off guard.
• Liang Qu explained the Pufferfish Tribe’s leaders and Spiky Thorns’ Divine Powers to Long Binglin and the others.
• Liang Qu reached the tribe’s spike-ringed territory, told his companions to stay back, and entered alone to investigate.

Liang Qu ambushed the Pufferfish Tribe and killed Spiky with a single spear strike, then fled while Spiky Thorns pursued him. The remaining Pufferfish feared their clan was finished as their Second Great King disappeared after him.

• Liang Qu secretly surveyed the Pufferfish Tribe and identified Spiky and Spiky Thorns as his targets.
• Liang Qu used the court’s jade talisman to confirm Spiky’s aura, then launched a surprise attack at noon.
• Liang Qu killed Spiky with one spear strike, destroying the clan’s central territory and terrifying the Pufferfish.
• Liang Qu fled with his Qi Sea nearly exhausted, and Spiky Thorns chased him despite warnings from the other Pufferfish.
• The Pufferfish watched Spiky Thorns vanish and feared their clan was finished.

After Spiky Thorns died, the Pufferfish Tribe faced a crisis as the Doghead Fish King and Channa Ba arrived, while the Iron Head Fish learned of the Great Demon's death. Long E Ying and Long Binglin prepared to ambush the pursuing fish, but Little Mirage Dragon relayed that its Boss wanted them to return and attack the Pufferfish tribal grounds.

• Spiky Hero ordered the Pufferfish to pursue Spiky and hide Spiky Thorns's death, but the Doghead Fish King and Channa Ba appeared at the tribal grounds.
• Channa Ba asked where the Second Great King had gone and set out to look for him, while Spiky Hero sent Puffer Guard and Puffer Right north to guide him.
• Tie Jun sensed that Spiky Thorns's aura had vanished and went to investigate the Pufferfish tribal grounds.
• Fat Catfish fought fiercely for the Pufferfish until a sudden foreboding halted both sides and left their battle line in a stalemate.
• Little Mirage Dragon warned Long E Ying and Long Binglin about attacking the Pufferfish, then relayed its Boss's order to return to the Pufferfish tribal grounds and strike back.

Liang Qu lured Spiky away while Awei tracked the battles, and Long Binglin ambushed the Doghead Fish in the Pufferfish Tribe’s territory. Fist and the River Dolphins took the gathered Great Demon flesh as Spiky Hero’s battered tribe stood down, while Tie Jun sensed that Dog Two’s aura had vanished too.

• Liang Qu used Water Movement to keep Spiky chasing him while Awei secretly monitored the situation and worried that the pursuing Great Demons would catch Long Binglin and Long E Ying.
• The Doghead Fish ordered the Pufferfish to gather Spiky Thorns’ flesh and killed a Pufferfish spirit monster it caught stealing a piece.
• Long Binglin attacked the Doghead Fish with an iceberg and Ice Caltrops, impaling and gravely wounding it as Spiky Hero realized the Pufferfish might survive if another Great Demon died.
• Fist arrived with more than a hundred River Dolphins, and Spiky Hero led the Pufferfish aside while Fist and the dolphins carried off the gathered flesh.
• Tie Jun hurried toward the Pufferfish Tribe with three Demon Beasts, then sensed that Dog Two’s aura had disappeared as well.

Tie Jun’s group witnessed Iron Cannon launch a devastating Blood Meteor toward the Pufferfish territory, while Liang Qu and his allies finished killing Doghead Fish. Liang Qu stopped Iron Cannon’s attack and rescued Long E Ying, Long Binglin, Awei, and Little Mirage Dragon, then ordered everyone to leave.

• Tie Jun heard that Spiky Thorns and Dog Two had vanished, worried about the enemy’s strength, and learned Iron Cannon had already set out.
• Iron Cannon fired a Blood Meteor through the waters, and Tie Jun rushed ahead, convinced the enemy would be defeated.
• Long E Ying and Long Binglin killed Doghead Fish with the Subduing Demon Saber Array and prepared to take its corpse away.
• Long E Ying sensed danger and raised an iceberg barrier as Iron Cannon’s Blood Meteor tore through the ice and struck Doghead Fish’s corpse.
• Liang Qu appeared and caught the Blood Meteor with The Buddha Descends to the World, crushing it after a fierce struggle.
• Long E Ying, Long Binglin, Awei, and Little Mirage Dragon regrouped with Liang Qu, who ordered them to go.

Liang Qu and his companions escaped after defeating Spiky Thorns and the Doghead Fish, then divided the spoils among their allies and the Dragon Man Tribe. As Liang Qu returned toward Pingyang, Su Guishan watched an enormous Doghead Fish arrive at the wharf.

• Spiky Thorns searched for Liang Qu without finding him, then learned that Dog Two had died and the boss had been taken by a crab.
• Liang Qu, Long E Ying, and Long Binglin escaped through disconnected waterways and returned to the Dragon Man Clan Grounds with the Great Demon remains.
• Liang Qu gave Old Toad the choice of a Great Demon corpse, apportioned the remaining meat, and arranged to send part of the Pufferfish meat to the Turtle King.
• Liang Qu headed toward Pingyang with Fist, Round Head, and Cannot Move, then realized that A Fei was missing.
• Spiky Head praised the Fat Catfish for helping secure a new fishing ground and ordered Pig Shallow to send fish to defend it.
• Su Guishan saw an enormous Doghead Fish emerge from the Great Marsh and come ashore at Shang Rao Wharf.

Liang Qu returned to Yi Xing Town carrying a Great Demon Doghead Fish, startling the townsfolk and officials. He then hauled up a net of another demon’s remains, revealing that he had killed two Great Demons, while Su Guishan realized the jade talisman’s qi signature belonged to the second one.

• Liang Qu arrived in Yi Xing Town carrying the enormous half-body of a Doghead Fish, and the townsfolk recognized and cheered for him.
• Ran Zhongshi, Xiang Fangsu, Xu Yuelong, Wei Lin, and others were stunned that Liang Qu had apparently defeated a Great Demon so soon after advancing.
• Su Guishan compared the Doghead Fish with the attacker’s qi-signature token and noticed they did not match.
• Liang Qu brought the Doghead Fish to the River Conservancy Office and said he had picked it up when questioned about his success.
• Liang Qu returned from the water with a net full of another Great Demon’s remains, leaving the officials to realize he had killed two demons.
• Su Guishan concluded that the jade talisman’s qi signature belonged to the demon hidden in Liang Qu’s net.